GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College Professor of English Mary Theresa Hall, Ph.D., recently published a review of James M. Kittelson and Hans H. Wiersma’s biography of Martin Luther in The Sixteenth-Century Journal: The Journal of Early Modern Studies.
Hall’s review of, “Luther the Reformer: The Story of the Man and His Career,” was published in the commemorative anniversary issue celebrating Luther 500. Her review places this latest biography of Luther as a timely, compelling and accessible account that highlights Luther’s proclivities, religious beliefs, marriage, family life and political disposition. The reader of this new biography learns how Luther not only played a pivotal role in what would be known as the Reformation but was himself also shaped by the economic, social, intellectual, theological and political trends of the 16th century.
Hall’s review is distinctive in that it uses Freytag’s Pyramid, or the plot structure of a work, to discuss each of the five parts into which the book is divided. According to Hall, literary, historical and theological scholarship is indebted to Kittelson and Wiersma for providing an insightful resource that furthers Luther studies and advances the appeal of considering this enigmatic figure from multiple disciplines.
Hall received her bachelor’s degree in English and secondary certification in English and French from Seton Hill University; a master’s in literature from Carnegie Mellon University; and a Ph.D. from Duquesne University. She has taught at Thiel College since 1999.